


Breathtaking in Black

by ColorAddict



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2018-03-16
Packaged: 2018-12-11 16:44:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11718396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ColorAddict/pseuds/ColorAddict
Summary: One night, Marinette is up late working on a costume for the upcoming Halloween Ball at her school.  Chat noir decides to pop on over for a visit, but Marinette doesn't really like the idea of him seeing her special made Chat Noir themed dress.  When she tries to hide it from him, things get a little interesting.





	1. The Dresses

**Author's Note:**

> This was only supposed to be a one shot...whoops! My tumblr account is @addicted-2-color if you'd like to follow me for updates and such :)

The Halloween Ball at Collège Françoise Dupont was only three days away.  Marinette had been working on her costume ever since the ball was announced in Early September.  A simple short black dress with gold embroidery along the sweetheart neckline.  A single gold bell sewn in the center.  Black ribbon wrapped around the waist and hung down in the back to mimic a tail.  A headband with a pair of black cat ears sewn to it sat beside her sewing machine.  Marinette knew she wouldn’t be the only Chat Noir at the ball that night, but she was determined to stand out.  All she had left to finish was the gold embroidery on her matching mask and she would be ready.                                                                                                                        

Wearing matching ladybug and chat noir costumes was Alya’s idea of course.  Marinette was more than happy to dress as her partner rather than risk recognition so she didn’t dream of objecting when Alya called dibs on Ladybug.  Of course, matching costumes meant twice the work on Marinette’s part.  Across the room, hanging on her closet door was a high-low red dress with small black spots dotted along the matching sweetheart neckline.  Black spots covered the skirt and faded as they traveled down from the waist line.  A red mask with five black spots sewn on it lay on a nearby desk with a pair of red fingerless gloves.  Both costumes would be finished by the end of the night, completely on schedule.    

“You’ve really outdone yourself Marinette” Tikki praised as she floated past the young designer.

“Thanks Tikki! I just really hope Alya likes her dress.  I know it will look spectacular on her.”  Marinette turned to examine the bright red dress hanging on her closet door.  Alya had always looked good in red.  Marinette was sure that the polka dotted dress would compliment her best friend very well.  She just hoped that she wouldn’t look too plain in comparison.  She was very proud of her work on the Chat Noir dress, but she still wasn’t sure if she could pull it off.  She didn’t exactly have Alya’s confidence.  However, she was determined to impress at the dance.  She didn’t want to impress just anyone of course.  A school dance meant male classmates, and male classmates meant Adrien.    

“Marinette stop looking so hesitant.  You’re going to look amazing! I promise” Tikki sang as she did a small flip mid air.  Marinette smiled at her Kwami.  Tikki always knew exactly what Marinette needed to hear.  The teen took a deep breath, nodded at her tiny companion and sat down to begin the intricate embroidery on her mask.

Two minutes into her careful threading, Marinette heard a strange thump on her roof.  That could only mean one thing.  Chat Noir.  Her heart dropped to her stomach.  The hero had visited her quite a few times when on patrol and she had managed to become good friends with him without her mask.  But if he saw her dress, she would never hear the end of it.  She could already hear him teasing her over and over about her creation.

“Tikki help me hide everything! I can’t let him in with these dresses out in the open!”  Tikki grabbed the red mask and gloves off of the desk and flew into the closet.  Marinette followed after her with both dresses in hand.  She quickly hung them both up in the back of her closet and shut the door before spinning around to look up at her trap door.  Sure enough, a familiar knock came from the door and she began climbing up the steps to her loft.  Marinette opened the door to reveal a young blonde boy in a black cat suit grinning back at her through the darkness.

“Why good evening Princess” he said with a slight bow.  "I was on a nice patrol around the city when I realized that it had been quite some time since I paid a visit to my favorite civilian.  Hope you haven’t missed me too terribly.“  Marinette laughed at his theatric greeting.

"Don’t worry kitten, I missed you just the right amount I assure you.  Come on in.”  He thanked her and walked down the steps into her room.  Marinette followed after him and the two sat down on her chaise.  The two often sat there and talked for hours about their lives and their hobbies.  Marinette was comfortable with him around and she didn’t think this visit would be any different from the others.  That was until she spotted a small piece of black fabric with unfinished gold embroidery sitting out on her table.  Before she could act, chat had already spotted the mask and was on his feat.

“This mask is beautiful Marinette,” he marveled as he carefully picked it up to examine it closer.  "Do you have a special occasion coming up or is this for a Halloween party purrhaps?“  Marinette stared at him blankly.  Not only had she left the mask out, but sitting on the table beside it was her open sketch book with several drawings of the two dresses and the accessories spread across the page.  She had been using it as a reference.  Chat stared at her with curiosity when she hadn’t answered his question, but all his confusion was replaced with pure interest as he followed her gaze to the open sketchbook next to him.  

"No wait Chat!” she called as she stood up, but it was too late.

“Princess… are you designing a chat noir themed dress for Halloween?”  His grin grew wickedly wide as he spoke.  His eyes flickered from her designs to catch her gaze.   How could she have missed the sketch book?  "My dear I knew you were a big fan, but I never knew you were this infatuated with me?“  Marinette rolled her eyes and sighed before reaching for the book.  Chat held it up high in the air.  "Oh no, You are not getting this back until I hear more about this dress.”  

“Alright fine!” she gave in.  "If you must know, my school is having a Halloween Ball in a few days and my bestfriend Alya wanted us to wear matching ladybug and chat noir themed dresses.  I know how much she idolizes ladybug so I chose to go as you.  Now give it back!“  she stomped on his foot and jumped up to grab the book as he flinched in pain.

she smiled at her victory but stopped smiling immediately when she realized he hadn’t reacted to her swiping of the book at all.  He was just blankly staring at her.  Then his face lit up and the wicked grin spread across his face once again.  Marinette did not like that look.  She knew it all too well.

"So if the dance is only a few days away…” he hinted before turning quickly to face her closet.  "That means the dresses must be mostly if not completely finished and are most likely hidden in there.“  Her eyes widened and Chat took a step towards the closet.

"Wait!” she called out as she crossed the room and put herself between him and the door.  "I’ll show you the damn dresses, but you are not snooping through my closet" she demanded.

“Okay it’s a deal.”

“Not so fast.  There is one more thing.  I worked really hard on both of them.  And honestly I’m still really nervous about showing up to a dance in a dress I made myself so if you could at least try to control your urge to tease me I’d really appreciate it. ”

Chat dropped his goofy smile and placed his hand over his chest.  "On my honor I purromise that I will not tease my princess for her beautiful creations even if it may be tempting!“  Somehow she wasn’t convinced, but Marinette knew he would never leave without seeing both dresses.

"Alright, ladybug first” she said hesitantly before disappearing into her closet.  Chat went to sit patiently on her chaise as she went to the back of her closet to grab the hanger holding the high-low red dress she had designed for Alya.  Marinette backed out of the closet and slowly spun around to face him.  Chat’s eyes went wide as her examined the spotted dress held out before him.  

“Wow,” he breathed before slowly reaching out towards the garment.  "May I?“ he asked before Marinette moved closer to him.

"Sure.  Just watch the claws okay?”  He nodded in silence and smiled at her before lightly taking both sides of the waistline between his gloved fingers.

“You really have outdone yourself Mari” he praised.  "Honestly.  You captured M'lady’s aesthetic quite stunningly.“  He observed the spots that spread from the waistline and faded as they reached the ends of the skirt.  He knew designer quality clothing when he saw it and this dress easily surpassed many of the different designs he’d seen over the years.  "I knew you were talented Mari, but this really is beautiful work.  May I see the back?”  Marinette nodded with a light blush coating her cheeks.  She really wasn’t expecting him to give so many honest compliments.  She delicately spun the dress around so that he could admire the length of the skirt in the back and the black bow that would sit at the center of Alya’s lower back.

“This color will look fantastic on Alya.  I wish M'lady were here to see this!  She would love it I assure you,” he said with a sweet smile.  He looked up from the dress and his glowing green eyes met her sparkling blue ones.  He noticed the stunned look in her eyes and the light blush across her cheeks.  

Pink really was her color.  

He wanted to playfully tease her so badly in that moment, but he had promised.

“Thank you chat” she breathed almost silently.  Adrien was a little hurt to see her so surprised by his ability to praise her.  However getting to see her blush like that made it all worth the pain in his chest.   “Alright,” she said more to herself than to him.  "Now you can see the chat dress.  But do me a favor and close your eyes for me?“

Chat was intrigued to say the least.  "I think I can manage that,” he said with a nod of his head.  His eyes slipped shut and he released his delicate hold on her ladybug dress.  he listened to the faint sounds of her footsteps fading as she walked into the closet once again.  He heard the slight thud of her closet door closing behind her.  Adrien took in a deep breath and tried to calm his excitement.  He had meant every word he had said about her first dress.  It was obvious that she had put passion into every small detail of her work.  

The amount of dedication he had seen from her only made waiting more difficult.  She had been rummaging in her closet for several minutes, and he was beginning to believe she was just testing his patience.  Finally, his cat ears perked up as he heard the sound of a door knob turning and the door creaking open just a crack.

“Your eyes are still closed right?” she asked hesitantly.

“Of course they are.  Princess I never break a promise,” he assured her as he heard the sound of her foot steps slowly approaching him.  Her breath sounded shaky and her steps were very uncertain.  chat smiled lightly and whispered “Marinette you don’t have to be afraid.  I promised I wouldn’t tease or mock you.  You are an amazing designer and I am pawsitive that I will be blown away by your dress.”

Marinette took in a deep breath and smiled down at him.  He had been her partner fro two years now.  She knew he’d never lie to her.  "Okay kitty" she said as she took a step back from him.  "You can open your eyes.“  Chat’s eyes flew open as soon as he was given permission to look.  A few feet in front of him stood his dark haired classmate not holding, but wearing the most beautiful chat noir costume he had ever seen.  The gold embroidery on the neckline was extremely intricate and lead the eye directly to the small bell at the center of her chest.  He pulled his eyes away from her neckline with a light blush of his own before examining the satin ribbon tied around her waist.

Chat stood up and took a step towards her.  "Mari this is honestly the most beautiful piece I’ve ever seen you finish.”  His eyes traveled down to the ends of her skirt before flickering up to read her expression.  

Marinette was glowing.   Her blush had grown from a light rose to a bright magenta.  She had no idea why she felt this way.  Was it the honesty in his voice?  Was it the way his eyes had lingered at the center of her chest before slowly traveling down her body?  Her short trance was broken when Adrien reached out and gently took her hand  in his.  "Can you do me a small favor princess?“ he asked with his face now dangerously close to hers.  He held her hand up over her head and took a small step back to give her room.  "Do you mind spinning around for me?  Please.”  The low rasp in his voice was almost too much for her to handle.

Get a grip Marinette  she demanded in her head as she nodded and let out a hushed “Yeah, sure.”  She spun around one time slowly, holding his hand the entire time.  As she turned to face him she saw an expression she had only ever seen on his face when she had the mask on.  Pure admiration.

Their eyes met once again and the sweetest smile he had ever given her spread across his lips.

“You know I used to think pink was your color Marinette.  However it seems I was mistaken.  You look absolutely breathtaking in black.”

He took a step closer to her and their faces were dangerously close once more.  He was still holding her right hand in his left and he slowly brought it to his lips to place a tender kiss atop her knuckles.

Marinette was at a loss for words.  Normally she would playfully push him away with a sassy remark.  However, her mind had gone blank the moment he touched her hand.  She had never seen this side of chat when in her civilian form, but she was sure he had flirted with her many times as ladybug.  So why?  Why was this time any different?

While Marinette was silently self destructing, Adrien could not pull his eyes away from her.  Her growing blush was absolutely adorable.  He had never been able to get such a reaction out of her before and he liked it.  He liked it a bit too much.

“Can I ask one last favor before I leave?” he whispered, pressing his forehead against hers.  She blinked and forced herself to focus.

“Don’t you think I’ve complied with enough of your small requests for the night chat?” she managed to tease.

“I promise I will leave you in peace to finish your work if you promise me one last tiny favor.”

At this point Marinette would do anything to get a few moments to herself so she could clear her head.  she nodded and let a small smile grace her lips.  "Alright if it means I can have peace and quiet to finish the mask.  What’s your price kitty?“  
"Save me a dance on Friday night?” he asked.

Marinette’s head spun out of control.  Chat was going to the ball?  He wanted to dance with her while in his civilian form!?  Only school students with invitations from the school would be allowed in.  A million puzzle pieces were flying around in her head as she desperately tried to piece them together.

“Well princess what do you say?”  His nose was practically touching hers at this point and she could feel his breath on her lips.  Come on Marinette just speak damn it she thought silently.  The puzzle pieces continued spinning around in her head as she blinked and attempted to form a sentence.

“T-that would be alright with m-me,” she managed to mumble.  Why was she stuttering!?  "The only problem is you need to be a student in order to be allowed in chat.“  She was sure this would cause his expression to change from playful to disappointed instantly.  However his smile only grew more devious.

"Oh I assure that won’t be a problem in the slightest.”  He took a large step back from her, breaking all physical contact instantly.  "I’ll be there so don’t you worry your pretty little head about it alright?  Besides, I want to see the finished mask.“  Marinette had lost all ability to speak as he chuckled under his breath and turned towards her door.  "What do you say Mari?  Is it a promise?”  He turned his head to look at her and she knew he was not leaving without an answer.  she took in a sharp breath and tried desperately to piece the words together in her head.

“Yeah.  It’s a promise kitty.  I will save you one dance,” she managed.  Chat appeared very pleased with her answer.

“I can’t wait princess,” he whispered with the same low rasp that had left her speechless only moments ago.  "Until then, I bid you farewell.  Even the most lovely of maidens needs her rest.“  He turned his head once more and headed up her steps.  Before Marinette could so much as blink Chat was gone and she was alone.  She barely noticed when Tikki emerged from her closet to sit on her shoulder.

"Marinette do you really think this is a wise idea?” Tikki asked, but Mari could only barely hear her over the sound of her heart beating in her ears.  Tikki sighed and flew over to her stash of cookies Marinette had left for her at her bedside.

Chat’s words repeated on loop in her mind as she slowly began changing out of her dress.  “You know I used to think pink was your color Marinette.  However it seems I was mistaken. You look absolutely breathtaking in black.”

The next three days were sure to be the longest hours of her life.    


	2. The Note

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is part two! In which Adrien is an idiot and a goofball while Marinette is slowly self destructing. My Tumblr URL is addicted-2-color :)

Marinette had gotten almost no sleep after Chat left her room late last night.  She had lied awake for hours, but couldn't get the sound of his voice as he asked her to make him one final promise out of her head.  His eyes had been full of so much desire and admiration when they had made contact with hers.  The rasp in his voice made her heart leap up into her throat.  She could still vividly remember the way his touch felt as he gently caressed her hand and pressed his forehead against hers.  She was in deep trouble.  

"Come on Marinette!  I know you're tired, but you have to go to school," Tikki insisted as she hovered inches from her chosen's face.  "This is why I told you to be careful about how much you let Chat into your civilian life!  Not only did he give away a huge part of his identity to you, but you also promised to let him dance with you while both in civilian form!"  Marinette blinked at her Kwami.  She could barely hear a word she was saying as she tried to pull herself together and collect her thoughts.    

A dance.  All she had promised him was a single dance.  However, Marinette knew this was all about a lot more than a simple dance with her partner.  This was a school sponsored event.  He promised her he would be there.  He had basically confessed to being one of her fellow classmates.  Her head was filled with so many unanswered questions.  Had they had classes together?  Had they ever spoken while both in civilian form?

Most importantly who was he?  She hated being in the dark.

Marinette took in a deep breath and let it out as she sat up and threw her covers off.  She swiveled her legs around and let her feet touch the wooden floor.

She pressed her feet into the floor as she stood slowly and began to walk down the steps into the lower part of her room.  "Sorry Tikki," she finally mumbled as she walked towards her dresser.  "I know I should have been more careful, but what's done is done."  She sat down in her chair and looked at herself in the mirror.  She looked absolutely awful.  Bags had formed under her eyes.  Loose strands of hair were tossed in several directions.  She sighed as she turned her face slightly to examine it from different angles.

How could she have let this happen?  She had let herself get carried away and that was so unlike her.  More memories of the night before flooded her mind as stared at her own reflection.  His eyes, voice and gentle touch had all left her speechless.  He had never had this affect on her before so why?  Why was last night so different?

Was...was she falling for him?

She shook her head lightly in an attempt to clear the thought out of her head.  She couldn't possibly be falling for Chat Noir.  Marinette was so sure that the only blonde haired classmate she could ever have eyes for was Adrien.  Sweet, kind Adrien.  She glanced over to the framed picture of him she kept on her dresser at all times.   

A new sense of determination filled her body as she turned back to face herself in the mirror.  "Nothing a little makeup and a hair brush can't fix right Tikki?"  Tikki smiled at Marinette's new found courage.  The teen brushed her hair into her two regular pigtails and managed to cover up the dark spots under her eyes.  Chat Noir may have won last night's little game, but Marinette was not giving up just yet.  This was one mind game she simply refused to let him win.  He was going to pay for making her lose precious hours of sleep and for making her doubt her feelings for Adrien like that.    

She was going to school, and she was going to find him.

*   *   *   *   *  *  
Adrien had the best night’s sleep he’d had in months.  How could he not be at peace?  Marinette had made a dress completely inspired by his superhero alter ego.  She had tried it on just to show it to him and it looked incredibly gorgeous on her.  

All he wanted to do at first was let Marinette know how stunning her work truly was.  He hadn’t meant to get such a reaction out of her.  The was her brilliant blush appeared to light up the whole room.  The was she laced her fingers together with his when he reached out to touch her hand.  He couldn’t help himself.  He needed to see her blush that was again.  He wanted to leave her speechless one more time.  Mostly, he wanted to see her twirl in that dress again.  And so, he had asked her to dance.  It seemed pretty logical to him.  To Plagg however, it sounded utterly ridiculous.  

“A dance? What on Earth were you thinking?  How could you possibly think this would be a good idea?”  Plagg was flying back and forth in Adrien’s room as if he were pacing.  Adrien didn’t regret his actions one bit and continued to get ready for school as if a literal god wasn’t scolding him.  “So what is your plan exactly here Agreste?  You gonna just walk up to her at the dance and say ‘Oh hey Marinette, it’s me Chat Noir! Kiss me!’”  Adrien rolled his eyes.  Of course he had realized that dancing with Marinette at the Halloween ball would most likely mean revealing his identity to her, but frankly he didn’t really care.  He knew Marinette well enough to know that she was trustworthy.  He was confident that she wouldn’t tell anyone his little secret.  To him, all that mattered was seeing her dance in that dress.

He was confused about one thing though.  Ladybug.  He knew he still had feelings for his partner.  How could he not?  She was beautiful, brave, confident and smart.  But the one thing she wasn’t was in love with him.  He knew she didn’t return his feelings, and that was okay.  Adrien had come to terms with this fact a while ago and had been slowly falling for Marinette ever since.  How could he not fall for her after all?  Marinette was extremely talented, passionate, sweet and adorable.  He knew it was wrong for him to pursue her while he still had feelings for his lady, but one simple little dance couldn’t possibly hurt.

“Plagg nothing you say is going to change my mind.  You should have seen the way she looked at me last night.  She never looks at me like that in school.”  Marinette had always seemed really uncomfortable around him in school and it bothered him a lot.  She often kept her distance from him.  Whenever they did interact she always seemed to mumble her sentences and refused to make eye contact with him.  Maybe that was the reason he visited her room so often.  When he was chat, she was completely comfortable and confident around him.  She didn’t mumble or stutter at all.  In fact, she often made witty remarks or even sass when speaking to his other half.  He hoped that, if she learned the two were actually one person, she would be more comfortable around Adrien.  

“What about ladybug?”  Plagg pried as Adrien continued to walk around his room getting ready for school.  The teen pulled his jeans up over his hips and looked up to meet his kwami’s intense glare.

“What about her Plagg?  Do I still have feelings for her? Of course I do, but it’s pretty obvious that she doesn’t feel the same way about me and I want her to be with someone who makes her happy,” he stated as he buttoned his pants and began to remove the shirt he had slept in that night.  “Besides, all I asked for was a dance.  It’s not like I asked for her hand in marriage.”

“No that’s not what I meant.” Plagg snapped harshly.  Adrien dropped his shirt to the floor and looked up at Plagg in surprise.  The kwami wasn’t normally one to raise his voice.  “What I meant was,” he said at a volume Adrien was more used to.  “Don’t you think it’s wrong for you to give away your identity to one of your classmates while Ladybug still has no idea who you are?”  

Adrien sighed.  Plagg was right for once.  It would be wrong of him to go giving his identity to a girl he was only beginning to become close with without telling his partner as well.  At the end of the day, ladybug was truly one of his best friends.  He trusted her with his life.

“Alright then it’s decided,” he stated with a nod and a brilliant smile.  

“You’ve realized this is ridiculous and decided not to tell her?”  Plagg asked hopefully.

“Nope!” Adrien said as he looked up to flash a wide grin back at his little companion.  “I’ve decided that, after I reveal myself to Marinette, I will tell ladybug everything as well.”

Plagg wanted to lose it and yell at his chosen so badly in that moment.  However, he knew that smile all too well.  Nothing that he said would ever change Adrien’s mind now. Whether he liked it or not, Plagg knew this was going to happen.  

“Alright kid looks like you win this argument.  I just hope you know what you’re doing.”

Adrien’s smile appeared to double in size at Plagg’s cease fire.  There wasn’t a single doubt in Adrien's mind when it came to his complete trust and faith in the two most important girls in his life.  All he wanted was for Marinette to be comfortable around him.  He wanted her to be able to have a regular conversation with his civilian form.  He wanted her to see him as a friend she could be herself around.  Was that really such a bad idea? Of course not.  He parted his hair and combed his bangs out of his face.  

He was going to school, and he was going to talk to her.

*   *   *   *   *  *

    The odds of Marinette showing up to school on time hadn’t been good ever since she first put the earrings on.  The odds of her arriving with enough time to visit her locker before class?  Unheard of.  And yet, something even more unlikely happened when Marinette arrived at school that morning.  Not only did she have time to go get her books from her locker, but she also looked up to see a tiny green envelope taped to her locker door.  She reached out and gently pulled the envelope off of her locker door before turning it over in her hands.  On the back of the envelope, in cursive gold writing, was the word “Princess”.

    The world seemed to stand still as Marinette read the word over and over in her head.  Only one person had ever called her princess.  Not only was Chat Noir a student at her school, but he had come to school early and left her a note.  Chat knew which locker was hers.  Marinette stared at the envelope for what felt like a silent year before a familiar voice finally moved her from her trance.

“Hey Mari!” Alya yelled from the other end of the hall.  Marinette looked up to see her best friend running towards her.  “You’re actually on time today” the brunette exclaimed as Marinette quickly stuffed the envelope into her back pocket and looked up to flash a casual smile at her friend.

“I know right?” Marinette joked.  “What are the odds?”  Alya threw her arms around Marinette in a friendly hug which Mari quickly returned.  The two pulled away and Alya gave Marinette a very questioning expression.

“Did you really think I didn’t see you stuff an envelope in your pocket girl?  Are you hiding something?”  Alya reached around to grab the letter out of MArinette’s back pocket, but Marinette spun around just in time to block her hand.

“It’s just some money Papa gave me for lunch today,” she lied.  “If you keep messing around, we’ll both end up late to class this time.”  Alya rolled her eyes and gave in.  She knew Marinette was right and she didn’t feel like making up an excuse for the both of them.  Marinette turned to grab a few books out of her locker and the two girls hurried off towards class.  

The girls entered the classroom together just a minute before the final bell sounded.  They quickly went to their seats behind Adrien and Nino and MArinette began spreading her books out on the desk in front of her.  She could feel the note in her pocket.  ‘What could it possibly say?’ she silently contemplated as she began aimlessly doodling on her notebook.

A friendly voice broke through the silence.  “Good morning Marinette.  Your hair looks really cute today.”  Marinette was so lost in thought that she had only barely processed the sentence.  Without speaking she responded to the familiar voice without a hint of hesitation.

“Goodmorning Adrien, you look cute today too.”

Marinette dropped her pencil flat on the desk in shock.  She slowly looked up to see a blushing Adrien staring at her with his jaw hanging slightly open.  Alya had almost stopped breathing and Nino had even taken his headphones off in anticipation of Adrien’s response to Marinette’s sudden confidence.

“Thank you!” he exclaimed with the brilliant smile she had fallen in love with years ago.  

Marinette managed to stutter a quiet “you’re w-welcome,” before Adrien turned his head to greet Alya and Nino.  Chat Noir playing with her brain was either going to do wonders for her relationship with Adrien or land her in the nut house.  As she listened to her friends talk, Marinette quietly reached into her pocket to pull out the green envelope.  She turned it over in her hands to read the gold lettering once again before bending over to place it inside her backpack.  Marinette zipped it shut and sat up to begin doodling in her notebook once more.  Little did she know that Adrien had seen her hide the note out of the corner of his eye and his heart was doing silent somersaults in his chest.  Marinette had received his note.  Marinette was so distracted by the note that she had dared to tell him he looked cute without a single flaw in her speech.  These next three days were definitely going to interesting to say the least.         


	3. 3 clues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat leaves Marinette with some big clues, while also leaving her with more unanswered questions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit short, but I promise to make up for it in chapter 4 :P

After several hours of attempting to pay attention in class, Marinette had finally given in to the fact that she would not be learning anything new at school today.  The only thing she could seem to focus on was the weight of the small green envelope sitting in her back pocket.  The hands on the classroom clock appeared to be ticking in reverse as she desperately waited for the afternoon lunch bell to ring.  
Finally, it rang throughout the school and Marinette was up and out of the room without so much as her usual “See you later,” to Alya.   She left the classroom in such a rush that she failed to notice Adrien smile to himself as he watched her sprint out.  She ran home as fast as her toned legs could carry her, and quickly climbed the stairs up to her room after swiftly waving to her parents down in the bakery.  She would apologize for being in such a rush later, but for now all of her attention was on the note.  
She locked her trap door beneath her and leaned against her bedroom wall to catch her breath as she retrieved the note from her back pocket.  “What do you think he wrote?” Tikki questioned curiously as she flew out from inside Marinette’s small bag.

“I honestly have no clue Tikki,” she admitted as she began peeling the envelope open.  Her hands shook slightly as she unfolded the piece of paper that rested inside.  Marinette took a deep breath and began reading the note quietly out loud to Tikki.

“Dearest Marinette,                                                                                             
As you have most likely figured out by now, I have been attending school with you since I began class two years ago.  I know that you most likely have several questions wandering around in that pretty little head of yours and I promise to answer them all in time.  For now all I can tell you is that we have talked on several occasions while both in civilian form.  I’ve always considered you a friend, but last night I saw your true colors my princess and might I add that your true colors are beautiful!  I look forward to seeing you later today and can not wait for our dance this Friday.  Until then I will continue to leave you small clues and notes that will hopefully answer a couple more of your questions.    
Truly yours, Chat Noir”

Marinette’s breath was unsteady and her eyes continued to skim over the words frantically as if attempting to decrypt an ancient puzzle.  He had given her three big hints to his identity in just one tiny paragraph.  First, she now knew that she and Chat noir had spoken with one another multiple times while both out of costume.  Second, he had considered her to be a friend even before he had begun visiting her as Chat Noir.  And finally, she had either already run into him today or he was planning on running into her later after lunch.  And yet, even with all of this new information buzzing around in her mind, Marinette still couldn’t seem to stop the questions that kept interrupting her thoughts.  
      
How often had they spoken to one another?  Had she ever interacted with his civilian self outside of school?  Did they already see each other or even speak to one another today?  The questions continued to pile up as she slowly folded the letter back up and slid it back into the small envelope.  She hid the note inside of her sketch book and placed the book back down on her desk.  She then unlocked the hand made box that she kept her diary hidden in and began to scribble down a few sentences as Tikki hovered curiously.    
“What are you writing?” the small creature questioned as she floated over the book.  Marinette appeared to be making a list of some sort.

“I’m writing down all of the clues he’s given me so far.  I can’t tell if he wants me to figure it out or if he’s just having fun messing with me.”  Marinette had written “Clues” at the top of the pag and three bullet points with hints given to her in the note.  For once Marinette was finally focused until Tikki broke her concentration by asking the one question that Mari had been avoiding the most.

“Marinette, why do you suddenly care so much about who’s behind that mask anyway?”   

Why did she care so much?  She never wanted to know before.  Marinette knew that their secret identities were to be kept secret for a reason.  She knew that it was best for their own safety as well as for their dynamic as partners.  However, part of her knew there was another reason she refused to reveal herself to Chat.  As much as she adored and trusted her partner, she wasn’t very confident that he’d be happy to learn who the girl behind the mask really was.  He had always gone out of his way to show how much he admired and respected her as a partner.  What if he didn’t feel the same way about her civilian form?  These thoughts had quieted down when he started visiting her more, but a small part of her still worried that he’d have less faith in her and their entire partnership would be thrown off if he found out.  

Despite all of these thought and fears, she still wanted to know who he was.  She knew it wasn’t really fair for her to suddenly be so curious when she had refused to tell him her identity for years.  However, she still couldn’t ignore her new found curiosity.

“I’m not sure why to be honest with you Tikki,”  She spoke quietly without looking up from her list.  She silently took in a breath and finally looked up to lock eyes with her kwami.  “I’m worried the dumb cat might be growing on me in more ways than one,” she said with a slight blush on her face.  She hadn’t said it out loud up to this point, but now that she had she was suddenly very aware of her feelings.  Her heartbeat had skipped a few times since their recent meeting.  She had caught herself blushing many times. She had even stuttered when speaking to him.  All of the above were actions she had exhibited before, but only when she thought about…

“But what about Adrien?”  Tikki’s question stung.  Marinette definitely hadn’t forgotten about Adrien.  How could she ever forget about her first crush?  He was so kind and gentle towards her ever since she first met him.  He wanted to be her friend from day one, even though she had trouble even speaking to him clearly.  Marinette sat down on her chaise and looked down in her lap as tears began to build up in the corners of her eyes.  

“I honestly don’t know what I feel, Tikki”  she mumbled as tears began to dribble down her face.  Tikki lightly nuzzled Marinette’s cheek as she continued to cry softly.  Many ladybugs had fought with their feelings toward their partners in the past.  Tikki had learned that comforting her chosen came with the territory.  Every ladybug needed different forms of comfort.  For Marinette, words were never truly needed.  Simply feeling Tikki’s weight against her cheek helped her know she was not alone.    

Marinette eventually decided that returning to school later in the day was going to be too difficult for her.  She told her parents that she wasn’t feeling well and Sabine called the school while Marinette walked back up to her room.  She still had two days left to figure out her feelings about the two blonde boys in her life.  Taking one day to clear her head and get some rest would be for the best.  She lied down on her bed as her exhaustion from the night before finally began to really present itself.  Tikki curled up on the pillow beside her and watched over her chosen as her eyelids slid shut.  As Mari took time to rest and calm her thoughts a bit, two of her classmates began to worry about her sudden absence. 

*     *     *     *     *  
“Alya.  Do you know where Marinette is?” Adrien asked in a very uneasy voice.

“No!  I texted her about twenty minutes ago and nothing,”  Alya replied as she checked her phone a fifth time.  “I hope she’s feeling alright.  She seemed more exhausted and anxious than usual today.”

That response worried Adrien.  He never meant to get Marinette upset or distressed.  Had she been up all night?  Was she really so worried about the dance that it caused a visible spike in her anxiety?    
Did she not want to know who he was?  

“Dammit!” he exclaimed as he lept up from his seat. “Adrien where are you going? Return to your seat immediately!”  Ms. Mendeleiev called after him, but he kept on running.  Whatever trouble he was in, he would deal with it later.  For now he was only concerned with making sure he hadn’t crossed a line and taken his fun too far with Marinette.  He had to see her.  Had had to know she was alright.  Then he would go back and blame the whole thing on an emergency stomach ache, which wouldn’t be a total lie.  There was definitely a growing pain in his stomach as he approached her house and stared up at her balcony.    
“Alright Plagg, time to go aid a princess in distress,”  he whispered.  Plagg flew out from inside Adrien’s jacket and rolled his eyes.

“Isn’t that how this whole fiasco started in the first place?  Maybe you should just leave her alone for a bit.  The girl has been given a lot of information all at one and I’m sure she doesn’t need you bursting in and making it worse.”  For once, Plagg’s whole blunt and honest routine hit deep in Adrien’s chest.  The last thing he wanted to do was upset Marinette more, but he still wanted to make sure she was okay.  

“You know Plagg you’re actually right for once,”  he admitted as a new idea crept into his mind.  “But even if she doesn’t really want to see Chat Noir right now…”  he began as Plagg looked up at his chosen with an inquisitive expression.  “Maybe She wouldn’t mind speaking to Adrien Agreste,” he finished with a smirk.  Plagg shook his head but knew Adrien wasn’t going to give in.

“I still think this is a bad idea, but I know you won’t listen to me.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you kid.”  With that final remark, The kwami flew back into his usual hiding place in Adrien’s jacket.  Adrien closed his eyes and took in a deep breath before pushing open the door to the Dupain-Cheng bakery.


	4. Adrien's Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien is worried after Marinette does not return to school after lunch. He leaves school to check on her out of fear that he may have caused her absence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took me so long. college and work have been taking over my life! This chapter is significantly longer than the previous one just as I promised :) I hope you all enjoy it!

Adrien heard the faint sound of a bell as he pushed open the front door to the Dupain-Cheng bakery. Thousands of wonderful smells mixed together in the air around him as he approached the couple working behind the counter. 

“Good afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Dupain Cheng,” he greated with a wide smile. Sabine smiled back at him as Tom continued to stack loaves of bread on the shelf just behind her. 

“Good afternoon Adrien! Are you by any chance here to see Marinette?” she asked with a subtle wink that he almost missed. Tom stopped stacking suddenly and turned his attention toward their conversation.

“Well actually yes,” Adrien confessed as the couple exchanged a quick smile. 

“I missed school today for some activities that my dad had arranged for me this morning.” Lie. “A friend of mine texted me and said that Marinette hadn’t shown up after lunch break, and that she was worried she might be sick.” Also a lie. “So I figured I would stop by and see how she’s feeling if I had the time.” Less of a lie but still not fully true. This was only his second time ever talking to Marinette’s parents, and here he was lying to their faces. He hoped to never make a habit of doing such a thing, but what other option did he have? He just wanted to see her and to know she was alright. 

“Well,” Tom spoke first. “I believe she said she needed to lie down for a bit. She seemed pretty exhausted so she may be sleeping. If you'd like, you can go on up and wait for her in the living room. I’m sure she won’t be long.”

Adrien’s expression lit up. “Yes, I don’t mind waiting at all. If she’s still asleep after a while I’ll head out, but I’d really like to see her if that’s alright.”

“Of course son, head on up,” Tom said. Adrien nodded, quickly thanked the couple and headed up the stairs to their apartment. He knocked gently before letting himself in. Marinette’s main living space was just as he’d remembered it. It was so cozy and comfortable in comparison to his large, cold mansion. 

On top of that, her house just looked a lot more lived in than his. Pictures of her family covered the walls and shelves. Drawings and school projects that Marinette must have done years ago covered the refrigerator. This must be what having a real family is like Adrien thought to himself as he took a seat on her living room couch.

After a few minutes, Adrien heard movement coming from the door in the ceiling that he knew lead to her room. He slowly made his way up her stairs and gently knocked on the door. “One moment Papa!” he heard her call from the other side of the door.

“Actually, it’s Adrien,” he replied. Marinette’s heart dropped. Her hair brush fell to the floor as she froze in place. “What was that?” Adrien called again from her steps. These boys are trying to kill me she thought as she shook her head and tried to think of a reply.

“Oh, I um.. I brushed my drop.” smooth. She cringed silently as she forced herself to continue speaking. “I’ll be down in a minute,” she managed. Her heart was beating at an incredible rate as she leaned down to pick her brush up off the floor. 

“Okay I’ll wait down here if that’s alright!” he called up before descending her stairs and sitting down on the couch once more. Marinette turned to face her mirror. How did he get in my house? Why is he here? Why do blonde haired, green eyed boys enjoy giving me heart attacks so often!? She thought as she ran her brush through her hair a couple of times. She took a deep breath and began getting dressed.

“Wow marinette, you sure are popular recently?” Tikki teased as she hovered above her chosen’s head. Marinette glared at her as she pulled her pink capri’s up over her hips and fastened the button. Normally, she would swoon at the idea of Adrien popping over for a casual visit. However, she was in no condition to even pretend she could be casual around him. She had been up all night thinking about him and Chat Noir and trying to figure out her feelings. Just when she gets a moment to rest and clear her head, he shows up unannounced. 

“Tikki this isn’t funny. What am I going to do? I can’t just go down there and casually have a conversation with him. I suck at being casual,” she admitted with a huff.

“Just be yourself Marinette. He skipped school to come see if you were alright. Obviously he cares about you.” Marinette closed her eyes and took a deep breath before putting on a brave smile. She nodded at her kwami and headed for her door. She was going to survive this.

Adrien’s ears perked up as he heard the sound of her door opening. He quickly turned his head to see her smiling back at him as she walked down the steps. “Well this sure is a surprise” Marinette remarked. “I could have sworn you were supposed to be in school right about now.” Adrien smirked and stood up from her couch.

“I could say the same to you,” he added playfully. She smiled at him and walked past him to sit down on the couch. Marinette looked up at him and hesitantly patted the seat next to her, inviting him to sit. Adrien returned her warm smile and settled down beside her. Marinette took in a deep breath and tried to figure out how much she could tell him without giving away too much.

“To tell you the truth I’m not sick. I’ve kind of just been stressed out for a couple of days.” Marinette spoke slowly; thinking about each word before she stated it. Adrien’s expression seemed very worried. She didn’t want him to be concerned over her personal issues, but at the same time she found his interest to be heart warming. “It’s not really something you need to worry about Adrien, but thanks for coming to check on me.”

She was wrong. He had every right to be concerned. He had made her uncomfortable and stressed to the point where she was skipping school to catch up on sleep. She had bags under her eyes and was clearly shaking and it was all his fault. All because he had a bad habit of getting carried away when the suit was on.

“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?” he asked. “You don't have to tell me everything of course, but it might help to get some of it off of your chest.” This statement only seemed to stress Marinette out more. She broke eye contact with him and began tapping her fingers nervously as she tried to piece together sentences in her head. Adrien waited patiently as she silently scripted everything out. 

“Okay well there is this guy who I am really close friends with,” she began. “He and I have been becoming pretty close recently, but now he wants to tell me this huge secret about himself and I’m worried about how that secret will affect our friendship.” Adrien hung on every word as she spoke. “He has been leaving me clues and my head is just a whirlwind of unanswered questions that I’m not even sure I have the right to ask.”

Marinette’s whole body was shaking. Her fingers nervous tapped against her thigh. He was so close to her, but now wasn’t the time to turn into a stuttering, blubbering mess. She suddenly felt her hand stop moving as a warm pressure was gently applied to the back of it. Adrien was holding her hand. He took it gently in his in a way that was strangely familiar and began instinctively rubbing small circles against her palm. Her heart skipped a beat at the gesture, but she allowed herself to calm down slightly as she wrapped her fingers around his palm in order to let him know the gesture was appreciated. 

“Basically, I can’t tell why he suddenly feels the need to open up about something so personal to me. I want to think it's because he trusts me, but it honestly feels like he’s just toying with my brain.” 

That stung. Adrien froze and almost dropped her hand completely. She thought he was toying with her. She thought he had purposely devised a plan just to stress her out and fill her head with questions. This was the exact opposite of what he wanted. He just wanted to be able to share his identity with someone he trusted. Of course ladybug would have been his first choice, but she had made it very clear that she wanted no part of an identity reveal so he chose the other important girl in his life. He never meant to hurt her. Adrien took in a breath and prepared to justify his own actions. 

“You said that you considered this guy to be a close friend of yours right?” he began. Marinette nodded with a small smile that he almost missed. “If he’s really your friend then I don’t think he would intentionally do anything to make you upset or stressed out.” Marinette knew he was right, but hearing it out loud still felt better than thinking it. She turned her eyes back to his and took a moment to absorb his kind expression. She really did still love him. 

“Yeah you’re right” she admitted as she allowed her shoulders to relax and her shaking to slow. “It’s just, there’s some stuff that I haven’t been completely honest with him about either.” Adrien’s eyes widened at this. She had a secret? He had never once considered the idea that he wasn’t the only one keeping secrets in their friendship. 

“If he’s really your friend, then he wouldn’t pressure you into sharing anything you weren’t prepared to,” Adrien added. Marinette nodded as the same small smile from before found its way across her face. She knew everything he was saying was true. The Chat Noir she had fought beside for the past two years would never force her into revealing her identity and he would never intentionally cause her unnecessary stress. She had been over thinking things as usual.  
“Thank you Adrien,” she whispered as she beamed back at him. He felt his face get warm as he watched her smile grow. She had clearly calmed down. The pink that he had come to adore spread across her cheeks as they continued to smile at each other. No matter how wonderfully flattering that color was on her, he couldn’t get the picture of her in all black out of his head. It truly was his new favorite color on her. 

Adrien gently shook his head as he felt himself beginning to blush. His heart was fluttering in his chest. He really had become fond of Marinette in the few months they had spent getting to know one another. He felt comfortable and safe around her. This was a feeling he certainly never felt at his own home. Maybe that was why he preferred her house so much.

“Well I’ll let you get back to resting. Wouldn’t want you to miss another day of school just because I kept you up,” he said as he rose from the couch. Marinette stood up after him and walked him over her to her door.

“Thank you so much for stopping by” she mumbled with a slight bow as she opened the door for him. Adrien paused for a moment and then took a step toward her. He wrapped his arms around her waist in a tight embrace and held her close against his chest. Marinette froze in shock, but then slowly returned his hug. They held each other in silence for only a few seconds before Adrien reluctantly released her.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he declared as he turned toward her door. 

“Y-yeah. See y-you tomorrow,” she stuttered out. As she watched the door close behind him, she could still feel his arms around her waist. She definitely still had strong feelings for him. How could she not? He was kind, polite, honest and an amazing friend. Not to mention the fact that he was growing more and more attractive each day.

“That settles it!” Marinette proclaimed as she turned from the door.

“Settles what?” tikki asked as she flew out from her hiding spot in Marinette’s jacket. 

“I’ll admit that you may have been right about me developing some feelings for Chat Noir. Obviously, I have a thing for blondes.” Tikki snickered. “But my feelings for Adrien are still very strong and I’m not ready to give up on that. I’ve made up my mind,” Marinette declared. 

Tikki didn’t appear half as convinced as her chosen. “So you’re just going to give up on your feelings for him because your feelings for Adrien haven’t gone away?” the tiny creature asked puzzled. 

“No of course not, but no matter who Chat ends up being behind that mask, he’s my friend first and that’s a relationship I can’t risk losing,” Marinette clarified as she began walking back up the stairs to her room. “Whatever happens after the dance happens, but right now I need to focus on doing what’s best for my mental sanity. Right now, my mental sanity requires another nap.” 

Tikki rolled her eyes but gave her chosen a soft smile. “Your mental sanity just woke up from a nap,” she reminded Marinette. 

“It would appear that my sanity is easily overwhelmed by the presence of blonde boys with green eyes.” Marinette and Tikki exchanged laughter as Mari closed her trap door beneath her and lied back down on her bed. From now on, she wasn’t going to let herself spend all hours of the day worrying about future events that were out of her control. Adrien was right. Chat was her friend first and that was a bond that could never be broken.


	5. The Vine Tamer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just when Marinette thinks she might be early to class for once, a particular turn of events makes her miss class completely. Adrien finally gets his chance to speak with Ladybug and plan his meeting with her after the dance, since he feels bad revealing his identity to Marinette without telling Ladybug directly afterwards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: As a Halloween present, part 5 is done and published :).  I apologize for being awful at writing action scenes well, but I did what I could. Enjoy!

After Adrien’s visit, Marinette had lied down for nap number two and ended up accidentally sleeping through the night.  She had never slept for such a long period of time in her life, but clearly her body needed the rest.  The Halloween ball was now only a day away, and she still needed to finish up final touches on the two costumes before she could even begin to mentally prepare herself for the dance she had promised a certain someone that night.

“Rise and Shine Marinette!” Tikki sang as she floated past her chosen.  “I think you’ve had enough sleep for one night.”  Marinette took in a deep breath and threw the covers off of her body.  She sat up and swung her legs around till her feet gently touched the floor of her loft.  She wasn’t going to be late to school today.  

“Don’t worry Tikki.  I’ll be ready in fifteen minutes.”  Mari quickly changed her clothes, brushed her hair into two pigtails and then ran down stairs to brush her teeth.  She scrubbed her face, applied deodorant and was down in the kitchen ready for breakfast in record time.  

“Well it’s certainly a surprise to see you up and active this early,” her mother noted out loud as she poured her daughter a bowl of cereal and milk.  Marinette thanked her mother and allowed herself to take her time a bit with the food in front of her.  It had been so long since Marinette was actually up in time to enjoy breakfast.  After spooning the last bite into her mouth, she quickly gathered her books into her backpack and hugged her mother before heading out the door.  This would be her first time actually getting to school early in months.

Of course, with Marinette’s luck she really should have seen the akuma attack coming.  Just as she was making her way up the front steps of the school, several screams erupted throughout the city.  A loud rumbling sound echoed out followed by evil laughter.  “This can’t seriously be happening today.  Please tell me I’m dreaming,” Marinette begged as she took off running toward the sound.

As she ran, Marinette passed a large crowd of civilians running in the opposite direction. She rounded a corner and stopped immediately as the whole scene unraveled before her.  The buildings around her were all covered in large vines that appeared to be growing at an alarming rate.  Civilians were getting wrapped up in vines and dragged down the street by their legs.

 Marinette followed the vines to see where they all met at the base of a giant venus fly trap.  A man in a fluorescent green lab coat and a red elastic suit covered in roses was standing at the very top of the plant, laughing as people were dragged toward its mouth-like trap.  The akuma victim had a single golden gardening glove on one hand that was being held in place by a vine wrapped tightly about his wrist.   

“This does not look good at all,” Marinette huffed as she ducked behind a building.  “Tikki spots on!” she called out as her transformation enveloped her in a bright pink light.  She quickly pulled out her magical yo-yo and prepared to through herself right into the middle of the chaos.  

*          *          *          *          *        

    Back at Collège Françoise Dupont, students and teachers were still unaware of the turmoil occurring just a few blocks away.  Adrien was sitting in his usual seat and was extremely distressed to see that Marinette was not sitting behind him.  Maybe she’s just running late as usual he hoped silently as he forced himself to take notes.  Ms. Bustier was reading a passage from Romeo and Juliet to the class just as Principle Damocles’s voice came on over the loudspeaker.

“Attention students and staff of Collège Françoise Dupont.  An akuma attack has broken out downtown.  Ladybug is already on the scene, but the situation remains highly dangerous.  Families have been alerted and everyone is dismissed for the rest of the school day.  Please go straight home in an orderly fashion and stay safe.”  The loudspeaker clicked off and all students quickly jumped up from their seats to begin packing their things and exiting the classroom as orderly as possible.

“Why now?  Why today?” Adrien huffed as he descended the staircase outside the school and turned down a nearby alley way. 

Plagg flew out of Adrien’s bag and Adrien stuffed the bag underneath a dumpster before taking a deep breath and turning to his kwami.  “At least I get to see m’lady.  It’s been a while, and I really need to talk to her,” he reminded Plagg as a warm smile and light blush crossed his face.    
Plagg rolled his eyes and let out a clear huff of distress.  “Just make this quick, I’m starving!” he complained.  Adrien nodded and took a moment to prepare himself before calling on his transformation.

“Plagg. Claws out!”  A bright green light flashed throughout the alley and left behind a very determined Chat Noir.  “ Can’t leave a lady waiting,” he declared before using his staff to catapult himself out of the alley and toward the screams he heard just a few blocks away.

*          *          *          *          *

    Marinette had immediately sprung into action and was working to free as many civilians as she could from the series of vines that the villain seemed to be controlling.  She was able to free a large number of civilians, but knew she was going to have to defeat the man at the top of the plant in order to save the few she had been too late to free. 

Two large vines came speeding toward her at an incredible pace.  they wound their way through obstacles with incredible accuracy as the villain waved his hand around to guide them after her.  Marinette was able to maneuver herself out of the vines’ paths just as they reached out to close in around her ankles.  The vines wrapped around each other and collapsed in a large knot on the ground.  Marinette turned her attention back toward the civilians she had freed. She guided them to safety and tried her best to focus on the task at hand so that she would be as calm and collected as possible when Chat showed up.

She had quickly figured out that the akuma was located in the victim’s gardening glove that he seemed to be using to control the vines.  That was really the only information she had been able to gather while running around, taking out vine after vine.  After all of the civilians were free of the plant’s clutches and out of the area, Ladybug landed on top of the building directly in front of the akumatized victim so that she could begin gathering information from him from a safe distance.  Her plan was to distract him by letting him talk about himself and his mission in order to by time for Chat to get his tail to the scene. 

“Hey!” she yelled out in order to get the villain’s attention.  His head snapped up towards her and his hand dropped back to his side.  “I don’t know what has made you feel so angry, but I’m sure I can help you if you’ll let me!” She called out.  Compromise had never really gotten her or Chat very far in the past, but she still preferred to sympathize with victim rather than immediately start throwing fists. 

“ You know it isn’t very nice of you to deprive my beloved plant of her precious food,” he sneered back at her from his perch.  “People like you are the reason that our environment is in the terrible shape that it is.”

“Who are you and what exactly are you trying to gain from all of this?” Marinette asked.  Please Chat. Hurry! She prayed in her head.

He smiled wickedly back at her and proudly introduced himself to the young hero.  “I am The Vine Tamer.  Ever since I was young, I’ve been made fun of for my love of plants and gardening.  Humans take nature for granted and I think it’s time the environment fought back against the humans that have plagued it with pollution and waste for centuries.”    

“ Using these people as food isn’t exactly environmentally friendly,” a familiar voice called back from directly behind ladybug.  Chat had landed behind her silently and took the remaining steps to stand beside his partner.  “I’m sorry M’lady,” he said with a slight bow.  “I hope this guy wasn’t too much of a thorn in your side while I was gone.” 

Marinette rolled her eyes at the pun.  “Nice of you to join us Kitty.  We were just getting acquainted,” She replied.  As Chat lifted his foot to take a step closer to his partner, a large vine crashed down on the roof between them.  The heroes quickly turned their attention back to the Akumatized man before them.  

“Well now that you are both here, there are a few items you have that I need.”  The man rose his hand up into the air and several smaller vines flew toward Ladybug and Chat Noir who lept from the building just in time to avoid them.  For an agonizingly long amount of time, the heroes worked together to fight off vines, rescue civilians and get closer to retrieving the possessed gardening glove.        

Chat was put on distraction duty as always, while Marinette called on her lucky charm.  An almost comically large can of weed killer.  Well at least this time it was something obvious.  Marinette knew exactly what she needed to do, but it was much easier said than done.  She ran out from behind a building into plain view of the giant plant. 

“Alright you thorny beast.  If you want me, come and get me!” she called out before running directly toward the base of the plant. 

“What are you doing?” Chat called out from up above.  “You’re going to get yourself eaten!”

“That’s the idea!” she replied just as a vine wrapped its way around her waist and began dragging her upward toward the plant’s large mouth.  Flashbacks of the Animan incident ran through Chat’s head as he watched the love of his life allow herself to be eaten by a giant monster before his eyes a second time.  

The Vine Taimer held his hand out over the plant’s mouth and allowed Ladybug to dangle above the opening as he spoke.  “Your sacrifice in the name of nature is much appreciated Ladybug.”  his voice echoed in Chat’s ears as he tried his hardest to figure out Ladybug’s plan.  There was no way she would truly give herself up right?  He just had to trust her.  
“Before I drop you down into my adored plant’s mouth, I’ll need you to hand over your earrings of course.”

Ladybug smiled wickedly back at the villain and held out the large can of lethal chemicals for him to see.  “While the Miraculous are magical, I have an even better gift for your plant right here!” she called out before tossing the can into the mouth below her.  The villain cried out and attempted to grab the can with a vine before it made its way inside of his Venus fly trap, but he was too late.  The trap closed around the can and it burst open to fill the plant with deadly chemicals.  

The vines all began to shrivel up and hit the sidewalk.  Ladybug broke free of the dead vine still wrapped around her middle, and prepared her yo-yo as the plant began to collapse in on itself.  The Vine Tamer fell as the plant collapsed beneath him, and was caught mid air by Ladybug’s yo-yo.

“Chat now!”  Ladybug called out.  Adrien swooped down on the falling villain and grabbed the glove off of his hand as they passed each other.  

One cataclysm later, the akuma was freed.  Ladybug quickly cleansed it and her miraculous cure whirled throughout the city.  The remains of the dead venus fly trap were erased along with the harsh chemicals that had killed it.  The people it had consumed were freed and the nearby buildings were all instantly repaired.  A young scientist lie in the center of it all on the pavement. 

“Where am I?  What just happened?” he asked as he began to take in his surroundings.

“You were akumatized,” Ladybug replied as she approached him.  “But you have nothing to worry about, everyone is safe now.”  The man smiled up at her and Marinette offered him her hand.  She helped the man to his feet.

“Thank you very much,” he responded before shaking her hand and heading off.  Ladybug turned her attention back toward her partner as he walked over to her.

“I thought we agreed you were never going to do that again,” he said as he crossed his arms.  After Animan, Chat was very nervous and upset about the whole allowing herself to be eaten thing and in the moment Ladybug had agreed to be more careful in the future.

Her earrings let out their first beep and she knew she’d have to wrap this up quickly if she didn’t want to detransform on her way back to the school.  She sighed and closed the space between them.  “I’m very sorry if I worried you, but I had to do it to defeat the akuma.  Besides, you have sacrificed yourself in battle how many times?  You can’t really give me grief for doing it twice.”

“That’s completely different!” Chat noir yelled at her.  

“Oh really?  And how exactly is it different?”  Adrien opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out.  She was right.  There really wasn't a huge difference, and he wasn’t really being fair.  He just loved her so much, and wouldn’t know what to do if he let something happen to her.  Still, he should have taken her feelings into account.

“Okay I guess the two situations really aren’t that different,” he sighed.  His expression softened and he wrapped his arms around her in a gentle hug.  Ladybug relaxed a bit into his hug then quickly tensed up as a second beep rang out in her ear.  This time, the sound came from both of their jewelry. 

“Well that's our cue to split.  I promise to be more careful as long as you promise to stop putting my life above yours all of the time.  Deal?”  Adrien still wasn’t fully satisfied with that deal, but if it meant she’d be more careful than he’d agree to it for now. 

“Okay, sounds fair,” he responded with a warm smile.  She took a step back and held out her fist.  Adrien happily returned the fist bump.  

A third beep rang out from their miraculous and Marinette pulled out her yo-yo.  “Oh, before we part there was one thing I wanted to ask you,” Chat stated.  “Tomorrow night I was wondering if we could meet at the eiffel tower around midnight.  There is something really important I need to speak with you about.”  

Marinette was very confused, but agreed to meet him.  The dance would end around 10:00 and she’d have plenty of time to meet him there.  

“Eiffel tower tomorrow at midnight it is,” she replied with a nod before throwing her yo-yo out and flying out of sight.  Chat smiled up as he watched her disappear into the city.

“I can’t wait m’lady,” he whispered to himself before running off in the other direction.           

 

       


	6. Walking Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What do you mean it''s been almost 5 months since I last updated??? No way! I'm sorry, but I've been busy :P I did my best to make this chapter good because the next chapter is where it all comes together so sit back and enjoy some Adrienette fluff followed by Adrien being a dork for several moments. Love you all :)

After the akuma attack, Marinette wandered to school only to find that they had closed for the day. Students and teachers had all gone home for safety. “So much for ‘Lady Luck’,” she whispered to herself as she sat down on the front steps. The one day she had gotten out of bed on time, school was canceled.

“Look at it on the bright side Marinette! Now you have more time to finish up the costumes before tomorrow night’s dance!” Tikki exclaimed as she floated into view. Marinette smiled down at her kwami. At least one of them could stay positive in a time like this. “You’re parents are probably worried about you being out during an akuma attack,” Tikki noted.

“Yeah, let’s head home,” marinette agreed. Just as she stood up and began walking down the steps, she heard a familiar voice call out her name.

“Hey Marinette!” Adrien called from the front gate to the school. Marinette’s breath caught in her throat as she watched him wave to her. She took in a deep breath and tried to remind herself that she had had conversations with him several times at this point. She could handle this… right?

“Oh hey Adrien!” Off to a good start so far. She walked up to him and tried her best to remain calm as she looked into his beautiful green eyes. “Shouldn’t you be at home? There was an akuma.”

Adrien let out a chuckle and replied “I could ask you the same question.” Marinette flushed at his brilliant smile and her heartbeat sped up immensely. “It’s nice to see you up and about, but I’m sure your parents are worried. May I walk you home?” Marinette stared at the love of her life in awe for a moment before reminding herself that he had just asked her a question.

“Uh, of course you can home me walk!” She had been doing so well, but of course she still managed to jumble up her words. How could anyone possibly speak in full sentences around him? Adrien just brushed the mix up aside and the two began walking toward her house.

“This is sweet of you, but I live right next door to the school,” Marinette reminded him. 

“I know, but I still wanted to make sure you got home safely.”

Marinette blushed again and searched her mind for a response as she tried to hide her rosy cheeks. “Shouldn’t you be getting home too though?” she asked as they approached the street between her house and the school. Adrien stopped walking and became very silent for a moment. 

He sighed and admitted “My father is probably too busy to have even heard the phone call from school. I have no phone calls or messages from the time of the attack so he was probably just lost in his work. I’ll just figure out a good story to tell him on my own walk home.”

Marinette was a bit concerned about the way Adrien spoke of his father. The smile he wore when first greeting her had faded and he seemed to fold in on himself a little. She had noticed this behavior before, but tried not to think too deeply about the matter. 

The two continued to walk and Adrien had quickly changed the subject to a topic that had been in the back of Marinette’s mind for what felt like a year, though she knew it had only been two days.

“Tomorrow is the Halloween ball at school. Are excited about it? I’ve never been to a school dance before,” he admitted. Marinette smiled to herself as she thought about it. The anxiety she had felt in the beginning had finally calmed itself when she decided that nothing would change her friendship with Chat. No matter who he was, they were best friends and always would be. 

Marinette looked up at Adrien and nodded. “Yeah I am pretty excited actually.” He looked surprised for a split second, but quickly covered it with the sweet smile she’d fallen in love with the day they met. 

“Can’t wait to see the beautiful dress you whip up. I’ve always thought you were one of the most talented people I’ve ever met.” Marinette couldn’t control the blush that coated her cheeks in that moment. The walk from one side of the street to the other now seemed shorter than it already was and soon the teens were saying their goodbyes just outside of the bakery. 

“Oh one last thing before I go home to face the lecture that awaits me,”Adrien said with a slight wince. Marinette began to worry again, but told herself that he would be alright. “I wanted to ask you for one tiny favor.” One tiny favor. Why did that sound so familiar? 

“Could you save me one dance tomorrow night?”

That’s why she thought as she forced herself to smile and nod in reply. They had danced together once before at Chloe’s party, but this would be a totally different ball game. 

(haha get it? Ball game???? Halloween BALL!?!? I didn’t even do that on purpose you guys!!! Ok ok back to the story. Sorry :D)

She had promised dances to two different boys and had to get to her room as quickly as possible to process that information as she attempted to put finishing touches on both dresses. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Adrien said with a confident smirk. 

Marinette nodded again and quietly mumbled “see you then,” before entering the bakery. She wanted to rush straight up to her room, but she knew that she had to tell her parents she was alright despite the attack. Marinette quickly ducked behind that counter. 

“I’m home!” she proclaimed as her parents came into view. 

“Oh Marinette where were you? We were starting to get worried!” her father responded.

Marinette hugged them both and began apologizing as she searched her mind for an excuse. “I’m fine! I was in the bathroom when everyone got dismissed and then almost got trampled when everyone was running out of the building. Eventually Adrien found me and made sure I got home safely.”

Her parents both smiled and exchanged a look at the sound of Adrien’s name. “We always knew Adrien was a good kid. Glad to see you home safe dear,” her mother said warmly. Marinette kissed them both on the cheek and turned to head for the stairs. She walked up to the door of the apartment and rushed inside. 

She quickly climbed the stairs to her bedroom, lifted the trap door and closed it behind her as Tikki floated out from inside her bag. 

“You’ve really gotten yourself into quite a mess haven’t you?” Tikki said in a teasing voice. Marinette didn’t know why, but for whatever reason she didn’t feel as nervous as she knew she should have. Maybe it was because she trusted Chat and because she had danced with Adrien before. Whatever the reason for it was, it was a good feeling.

“You may see it as a mess, but I see it as an opportunity my dear Tikki!” Tikki rolled her eyes and flitted over to sit on top of Marinette’s sewing machine. Marinette sat down and went quickly to work on the two dresses. She needed to make sure they were flawless if she wanted to keep her reputation as one of the most talented people Adrien had ever met.

* * * * *

Adrien arrived home about five minutes after parting ways with Marinette. As usual, his father was nowhere to be found, so he told Nathalie his reason for being home early and excused himself to practice piano in his room. 

When he entered his room, Adrien turned on his ipod to play classical music and walked over to his computer desk. He reached into one of the very large drawers and pulled out a piece of black cloth, some scissors, ribbon and glue. Plagg floated out into the open and perched himself on top of one of the large monitors. 

“What exactly are you doing and why haven’t I been given cheese since we got home?” he asked. Adrien rolled his eyes without looking away from his work, and reached into his pocket to retrieve a snack for the kwami. He lightly flicked it towards Plagg, who caught the chuck of cheese midair.

“Well we both know that Marinette is going to have a gorgeous handmade dress on tomorrow night. If I’m going to dance with her, I figured I should put some work into my costume as well.” Adrien sketched out a mask onto the black fabric and began slowly cutting it out.

But I thought that your father already designed your suit and had it hung up in your closet,” Plagg reminded him.

Adrien smiled. “Yes he did, but the mask he chose was white. Marinette is expecting Chat Noir, so I figured a black mask would help her to see that it’s just been me this whole time!”

Adrien didn’t want to do any huge dramatic reveal. He was simply going to ask her to dance as Adrien and then when she asked why he wasn’t wearing a mask, he would pull out his black mask, put it on, ruffle up his hair until it reached Chat level of messy and watch her react. After that, he would just try to work with whatever reaction she gave. He had planned for the best and he had planned for the worst, but he knew that no matter what she was still his friend. 

He knew that no mask he could ever create by hand would look near as good as something created by Marinette. All he had to do was make a mask convincing enough to show her that the sneaky cat who has been showing up at her window for food, had been sitting in front of her in class all along. He had even thought about adding on cat ears, but thought that that might give him away to the entire dance floor in a heartbeat. He didn’t want his secret publicised to all of school. Surviving Marinette would be one of only two hurdles. 

The tough part would come after he told Marinette. Ladybug had agreed to meet with him at the Eiffel Tower, but he was sure that she had no idea what to expect. She was definitely not expecting him to whip off the mask and say, “I told Marinette, so now I feel like I should tell you!” He just hoped that it wouldn’t affect their partnership. The absolute last thing that he wanted to do was make her feel pressured to reveal herself. Her identity was hers to keep, and his goal was to make that clear to her before he went through with the reveal, but he couldn’t live with the secrecy anymore. 

Secrecy was beginning to feel very lonely. The mask had always felt like another wall up between him and someone he cared about. Adrien was done hiding behind walls. Tomorrow night meant bringing two of his closest friends onto the other side of that wall and hoping that they wanted to stay. 

Adrien heald the mask up to his face and made a few adjustments before attaching the ribbon to either side. He fastened it around his head and slowly approached the mirror across the room. Before looking up at his reflection, Adrien ran his fingers through his hair and spiked it in several directions. He took a deep breath and looked at himself in the mirror. 

Marinette was going to know instantly.

The second he looked up, Adrien saw Chat Noir staring back at him. He swallowed and turned back to face Plagg. “Well that’s pretty darn convincing if I do say so myself” he said before beginning to smooth his hair back into place.

“Yeah I’d say. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you really were Chat Noir” Plagg said in a snarky voice. Adrien rolled his eyes again and removed the mask. He folded it neatly and tucked it into that jacket pocket on his suit.

“Well my piano instructor will be here in a matter of minutes, so I probably should practice each piece at least once,” he sighed. Adrien used to love the piano, but his father’s strict schedule and the fact that he couldn’t choose the pieces he wanted had made it begin to feel more like work. Still, Adrien sat down and began running his fingers across the keys without missing a beat. Nothing was going to kill his mood tonight.


End file.
